A Pit-Stop at the Well and Afternoon Dead Sea Scroll Reading. Just Another Day in Jerusalem.

“Shepherd’s Log, January 10th in the Year of our Lord 2011. Today I went down to the well of our father Jacob. Had to park my sheep outside of the Greek Orthodox Church above the well but it was worth it. I took pictures with my iPhone and those will come later but it was worth it. I can’t believe that after all these years Father Jacob’s (I use the American way of spelling it for the sake of clarity) well is still available. Though they have built a church, a beautiful one at that, over it I am still so impressed by all the history that a well can possess. I remember the stories my grandfather would tell me that his grandfather told him that his grandfather told him and on and on until some woman told him (him being my great-great-great-…..grandfather). She told him about Jesus and how He guessed her whole life’s story. It was a trick, I’m sure of it. Those Jews are always trying to take advantage of us. I stoned one yesterday. I’m pretty sure that old man won’t be coming around Samaria any time soon. Serves him right…”

Good evening from Jerusalem. I hope your day has gone/is going well and that the Gospel of our Savior has led you to repentance and joy more today than yesterday but not as much as tomorrow. Today we visited multiple memorable sites including Jacob’s well and Mount Gerizim. In the New Testament Jacob’s well is associated with the story of the Samaritan woman at the well (cf. John 4:12). I was attacked by the idea that Jesus had been there and for the rest of the morning that is all I could think about. I hung out around the well that Jesus drank at, spoke at, changed a woman’s heart at (who consequently changed an entire town’s heart) and I remembered what the Gospel was all about. Jesus saw through the woman’s make-up covering the blemishes of her life (and doing a bad job at that. She was at the well at the middle of the day for goodness sake, if that doesn’t scream outcast I don’t know what does) and after revealing who she knew she was He offered life. He reached out when He saw her heart, when He heard her say, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things (John 4:25).” He knew she was looking. Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush. “I who speak to you am he (4:26).” It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

My day did not end there. After Jacob’s well we made our way to Mount Gerizim. Deuteronomy 27:11-13 explains that half of Israel stood on Mount Gerizim to bless the people and half on Mount Ebal to warn of the curse. We stood on Mount Gerizim today and looked across a valley to Mount Ebal. The people of God stood these mountains and pronounced the blessings of Deuteronomy 28:1-14 and the curses of 28:15-68. Let’s just say I was glad to stand on the mountain from which the blessings were pronounced. I’m glad God opened my eyes to His grace and I chose life.

We left Mount Gerizim and arrived at Shiloh, an archaeological and theological smash that creates black holes in universes and causes Bible majors to drool. In 1 Samuel 1-3 we find an interesting story concerning the birth of Samuel, the fall of Eli’s son’s Hophni and Phinehas, and the calling of Samuel. The Scriptures say that Samuel’s mother, Hannah, went to the temple at Shiloh (so we were standing on the ruins of where the temple, with the Holy of Holies and the Ark of the Covenant and the presence of GOD was) to pray for a son. When she gave birth to Samuel she gave him to the service of the temple under Eli. Eli’s sons screwed up big time and God killed them. With all of that going on Samuel is ministering under Eli and, as 1 Samuel 3:3 says, he was sleeping in the Holy of Holies when he was called by God. So not only was Samuel born where we were standing, but it was where, at one time, the presence of God came down. I know, I know, His presence is in all of us now, but what a place to be! I was expecting scorched ground where flowers grew that sang, “Holy, Holy, Holy” on a 24-hour basis. Sadly, no flowers, but I had a wonderful opportunity to remember that the God that came down at Shiloh has pursued me, saved me, and keeps me now by His Holy Spirit. Oh, and on another note we saw a replica of the Temple in Herod’s days today which was gorgeous. Oh, oh , oh, the Dead Sea scrolls too. No big deal.